The cruelty the native Guatemalan people experienced is beyond measure. In a prior class I read parts of her story but not this section. As I read about the ingenious struggle I couldn't help but think about it in the context of the
Cold War and I am sure that's how many Americans thought of it at the time. Thinking of every left leaning indigenous movement as a communist threat lead to some incredibly
unethical decisions. It's obvious that the peasant struggle for freedom was fueled by years of oppression by the
landed elite and foreign companies.
Menchu's story brought a voice to the voiceless. I have heard some people claim that her story is not 100% percent accurate; but they are missing the point. Mensu's is speak for her people's collective experience rather than just herself. I don't think I will ever be able to eat Chiquita bananas in the same way or watch that one Woody Allen movie.
I completely agree with your second paragraph. Rigoberta Menchu represents her people as a whole and whether or not she has all of the details correct isn't the point. The main focus is that there are terrible things happening and it definitely needs to be looked at.
ReplyDeleteI was interested to find out that these labor issues existed outside of the issues we explored in "The American Way of Eating." McMillan and Menchu brought a voice to all of the voiceless people who are abused and exploited in an incredible cutthroat and greedy industry.
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